CHIEF MINISTER CLEANS UP YOUYI BUILDING
Rasta Sengs has been going around a few places over the last few weeks getting a feel of what it is like outside the walls of the Big House. That’s not a bad idea at all. The guy has been to Ataya locations in Freetown, he’s visited the main Correctional Center in Freetown, checked out workers at Youyi Building, that’s the main block housing many government Ministries, Departments and Agencies and he played a key role in cleaning up the compound alongside other politicians and supporters. Sengs is projecting the image of this man who swings easily out of office to make sure things are done properly.
It is our hope that he will press this attitude on as we go into weeks and months because as with everything, we suspect there will be bumps on the way. On that cleaning exercise, we have a few comments to make. That’s our contribution to the effort by Rasta Sengs and others to project a good image of the country.
1. Why did it really have to take a man in the position Rasta Sengs finds himself to clean Youyi Building? Is it that those big government people in that building daily are blind to the fact that filth was creeping on one of the most important buildings in this country?
2. Even after the much publicized cleaning exercise Youyi Building still needs cleaning. It’s easy to see that those people who generate the filth are still around the place. Rotten cars are still there. We can’t really say anything about that dirty water in what was designed to be a nice fountain.
3. Maybe Sengs should ask all the Ministries and Agencies in that building to return all the monies they claimed from the government to cover cleaning. There are cleaners paid by the government to do the work. Maybe we should sack them now or monitor them strictly going forward. It makes no sense to keep paying people at the end of every month for doing sweet nothing.
4. So when is the next cleaning exercise? We suggest the Chief Minister returns to the area close to his former office at New England. A huge slum has developed near the former SLBS/TV building and there are rotten vehicles abandoned along the road leading to the Social Welfare Ministry. It’s just unacceptable to allow that situation to continue in an area as important as that. We are watching.
A TRULY SPANISH KISS AND WORLD OUTRAGE
If that Spanish football guy who kissed that player was Thomas Daddy Brima, our SLFA president there would have been very little outrage about the incident. Maybe TDB’s wife and a handful of local METOO enthusiasts would have complained but the whole thing would be over in a few hours. That’s the Sierra Leonean way. Anyway, TDB is a good man. At least he knows how to take care of himself in public.
Of course there are huge cultural differences between Spain, or Europe and Sierra Leone which explain why the Western world in particular is so outraged about that incident. The issue is riding high on the news agenda of the world’s major broadcasters but all efforts to kick the Spanish guy out of office have failed. Prosecutors in Spain are looking for a criminal angle but it’s not looking good for them.
In Sierra Leone we complain for a few hours or two days and move on. We’ve had our own METOO stuff in the SLFA female area - an arrest was made by the CID, SLFA opened an inquiry but things have suddenly gone quiet and we are back at our default setting.
Think about all the noise around the money doubling issue the other day. Where are we now? We love this country. There is no time to waste.
Back to the Spanish question, we think what the guy did was like a handshake reaching the elbow. At that point a wrestling match becomes a distinct possibility. Yes, she scored the goal but she certainly wasn’t the best player on that pitch by our reckoning so what was all that hot passion about? Did the guy just grab an opportunity?
The mother’s hunger strike in that church was a good way to demonstrate love for her son but we urge her to wait for the law to take its course.
Back home in Africa, our Zambian brother who was accused of touching his player’s breast in a suggestive way is free. Like in Sierra Leone, the Zambians have moved on.
ELECTIONS OVER AND FUEL PRICE IS FINALLY MOVING
We always knew that the price of petroleum products in the last three months or so was false. It was being heavily subsidized because elections were around the corner and allowing the global situation to dictate the price of that commodity as it should, would have caused some havoc to the ruling party. Now the election is won and the chips are down.
Going by the supplementary budget released recently, the government has been spending some good cash to subsidize what we give at the pumps but we have been told that the subsidy would now be “gradually” withdrawn until we land at the real price of the commodity. How gradual would this withdrawal be? What is the real price? We still do not know.
Like people in other countries, we understand what’s happening in the world and how that is impacting our lives in our little corner in West Africa but we have to let the authorities know that things are getting really serious now with our finances. We expect them to find a way to address the issues and not simply surrender to so-called GLOBAL TRENDS.
HELLO SLRA: PIKE STREET BRIDGE IS STILL IN A VERY POOR STATE
Good Morning again Mr. Director General of SLRA. We hope things are going well with you and your organization despite all the challenges. We know the challenges are many indeed but we want to call your attention to the dangerous situation along Pike Street, close to the Correctional Service Barracks. We have to put a picture of that important bridge.
Like we said before, we don’t know where you live in Freetown but even if you live in the West of the city, we cannot tell the route you take to and from work. We can say the same for other senior people at the SLRA. So let’s assume for the sake of the point we want to make that your institution has some challenges and that there are a lot of projects to undertake with a limited financial resources. Please allow us in the most respectful way to open your eyes again to potential trouble waiting to happen on this bridge. In journalism we say a picture is worth a thousand words so just take a close look at this bridge. The last time we wrote in this column, the people of Pike Street called to thank us because according to them, they saw some maintenance work on the bridge. Not long after, it is now as bad as it was in the beginning. Sir, you can also ask your staff to visit this place and prove us wrong because these days some people have made it their business to spread fake news all the time. This situation on that bridge is very bad sir.
We don’t know how this is likely to affect the whole structure. It may well not lead to another Savage Street but surely this is not good enough and we certainly don’t need to negotiate a loan with the IMF to fix this. In fact the upper side of Pike Street leading to Jomo Kenyatta road has deteriorated so fast that by the end of the rains we might come back to this column with a different story.
We know there are many roads competing for your attention but just drive through this place and experience what we are talking about. Good Luck sir.
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